Regarding your relay.....let us forget about it first! :)

The first thing to check is whether the green "output" LED's (lights) on the PMDX-122 are working correctly, according to the commands from Mach3?

Then you can check whether the relay is corresponding to the output of the PMDX-122. If your relay is "opposite" to that output (ON when PMDX is OFF and vice versa), then go to Mach3 Ports & Pins and change the Active High/Low setting for that pin.

Gerald I install Pause and Resume and are working nice. This is looking better every new day. Will start welding Y gantry tomorrow.
Thanks amigo.

Hello Gerald and friends. I finished installing my electronic basics and every thing runs fine. Router under control and basics directions like pause, resume and e-stop all sow. Been running programs for the last 5 hrs with no problem. Commands will work correctly all the time.
Thanks Gerald. It is an honor to be guide by you.

All good news!

1. Can you tell us why your router relay was not working correctly the first time?

2. We find that the Pause button has a reaction time that is too slow. I have discussed it on the Mach forums and for a long time they all said it cannot be changed. (See some more in this forum) But they are beginning to understand why the router people want a quicker pause than the people cutting metal. Some day soon we will have a good "Pause" from Mach. We can discuss this in the other thread.

3. You have used very thick wires between the Gecko's and the PMDX-122. The current carried there is tiny and very thin wire is sufficient. However, when currents in wires are very small, then they pick up interference very easily. I actually used screened cable for that short distance. It is also a good idea to keep those wires/cables as far away as possible from heavy current wires (steppers & power supply) - especially do not tie the signal wires to the power wires in a tight parallel bundle. I think you have that danger with that other PMDX board that you are using.

1. Gerald the problem was that I had not checked correctly the out put. (I guess I was waiting it to work automatically:o) so now I understand la lot better how the inputs and out put work. Same for the pause and resume.

3. Those are cables I had around and use just to connect the system momentary. I will use similar screened cables recommended by you as soon I import them. I will take care to separate the signal and the power cables.

Hope to start welding this afternoon.
Regards

Hello Gerald and friends.
I went shopping for my steel and could not find the exact dimension according to the drawings.
For the rail they had 650*50 or 650*70 ¿Recommendation?
For 10 20 440 instead of 100*50 they have 100*40 ¿Problem in strength and assembling?
Thanks for your help

Hi Hugo

Saturdays are not good for steel shopping here - all the big stockists only work for 5 days in the week, Monday to Friday.

The "rails" you speak about, 650mm long by 50 (or 70) wide are confusing me. Have you got a part number please?

The tubes 10 20 440......If your Y dimension is relatively short, we can force some things in the design to accept the 100*40 tubes, but it won't be pretty. The biggest problem will be the connection to part 10 20 454. There will be a 5mm gap on each side.

Suggest you ask the steel supplier if they can order 100*50 for you. It might take a week to arrive, but it will be easier to work with.

Gerald sorry for not been careful writing. The option I got for the rails is 65mm*65mm*5mm or 65mm*65mm*7mm.
We don't have many options around here.
I will keep searching for my 10 20 440 100mm*50mm tube. My table is for boards 1.200mm*3.400mm, official measure of MDF in my country.
Thanks

MDF is 3.4 meters long in Venezuela! Wow! That would be useful. How heavy is it? Must be hard to carry.

Sorry Marc, thinking in Spanish and converting to English is confusing some times:o
MDF is 1.200*2.400

Hugo, both the 5mm and 7mm will be okay for you. I think if I had that choice, I would choose the 5mm. Have you already got a digital caliper? Can you measure the angle iron? I am suspicious of that 7mm - it is completely unusual.

If your Y axis is only for 1200mm boards, then I think 100x40 is okay. Maybe make a few more phone calls in the week to find 100x50? Can you get 2mm thick walls?

Hugo,

Too bad, I thought that would be GREAT. Oh well. I know the translation issues. I travel all over the world for business. Seems like you do very well to me.

Buenos Tardes!

Marc

Hello Gerald and friends. I got my 100*50*2 (they are not so common out here) and also the 65mm angle 6mm thick (Gerald I confirm there is a 65mm x 65mm x 7mm angle) I also got a nice place in a friends factory to continue building my machine so I am moving there next Monday. I got a nice deal with my pinions and my angles will be ready next week. There are no CNC machines around so I am having good deals because people wants to see it finish. Well friends I had to say something to keep calm while the time to move and keep going arrives.:D
Regards
Hugo Carradini

Maybe I must also come to see it! . . . . . . . . :)

From Wikipedia:
"Puerto Ordaz is a planned city which, together with the older settlement of San Felix, forms Ciudad Guayana in Bolívar State, eastern Venezuela. Puerto Ordaz is located at the confluence of the Caroní and Orinoco Rivers and is the site of the Llovizna Falls. There are bridges across the Caroni and a new bridge across the Orinoco (Second Orinoco crossing).
It is one of Venezuela's largest cities and is the base for large iron and steelworks and aluminium industries. The city has a large hydroelectric power plant, Macagua. Due to its planned nature, the city has a drastically different feel to it than many other South American cities. Many of its residential neighboorhoods have architecture and landscaping that are similar to suburbs in the United States in the 1950's, including 'cookie cutter' homes, sidewalks, and patterned lawns."

Ajaaaa. Well I hope you understand that planing a trip down here is a must, so start planing. You already have a place to stay, good meals and a new friend, more when I got some plans;)..... for the near future.
Regards
Hugo Carradini
P.D. ¿Can you believe there is no CNC machines down here? The most they have are pantograph's . Only CNC in very few mills and turners that costs and eye if you want something done.:eek:

Hugo, when you received your laser cut plates, you must have realised the power and economy of CNC. Accurate, low-cost cutting.

We are in the digital age for commerce, design, photography, communications, art and it is completely logical that factory production becomes digital.

However, people change their habits slowly. When your machine is ready and running, you still have to teach your customers what this machine can do for them....this is the most difficult part of the project!

Hello Gerald and friends. Like I said before I am fixing a place to work comfortableness and if I get certificated, I hope will be a Mechmate home in Venezuela. Having machined parts made here are very slow because there is a lot of work and not sufficient shops.
Here are some pictures of my new working area (the place is owned by a close friend with no rent for the first year:D) and some machines I can use any time I need. (yes I know is OK to have good friends)

This is the area I am fixing and getting organized, fixed and painted. The trailer will be use, half as deposit for miscellaneous and half with air conditioned for assembling and storing electronics parts and a place for taking a café once a wile (it can be pretty hot some times up here) and some parts that I have been working out. I am missing the rails (found a shop that have a big milling machine that can make the rails in three steps with out moving the angle)I will get them next week, all sow the four pinions will be ready next week. Still looking for the gas lift.

Some work coming out

Looks like Hugo got the color right! Art... Just kidding!:D

Nice to see the progress Hugo!

In that last picture, did you grind the welds away? Good welds should not be ground at all - the people doing the grinding get tired and they grind the metal on the sides of the weld. Therefore the joint becomes weaker after the grinding.

Thanks Gerald. No more grinding.

Hello Gerald and friends. Some post of my progress. I will be painting again at the end so I can get a nice coated. The reason I am going so slow is that my pinions and my angle rails are not done yet.:mad: I got a good deal but had to wait a while they finish other jobs. The table is very rigid and square.
Every thing is coming out nicely.I hope to get it moving at the end of this month. Gerald, definitely you are a great designer and a generous man. I really like this baby.
Thanks:)

Hugo your machine is looking great. And I would almost kill for your workspace. Way to go!!:)

J.R . Like I said before, your machine is very inspiring because of the good workmanship so I really appreciate your comments.:)
Thanks

Hugo,

Looking Good !! Your beast is also an inspiration.

I'm right behind you and should have some pictures of my table in a couple of weeks or so.

Greg

Some lovely steel!

Drawing 10 20 454 D has a purpose - it happens before welding & painting. ;)

Hello Gerald and friends. I want to get some new machinery for my shop and would like some help. I cut my 160mm beam with oxy-cut and I want a better cut. Those beams are uncomfortable to handle. ¿What would be the best option? I use stick Welder. I haven't use a MIG welder before. ¿Is it worsts to get one?
Thanks in advance for the help.
By the way I put together my gantry to the table and was fantastic the way it slide . Smooth and rigid.:)

Hugo,

This is what I'm using (the circular saw) to cut all my steel. Works great, the cuts are all clean, straight and the steel is cold after the cut. Makes correcting measurement mistakes almost easy :rolleyes:

http://www.steelmax.com/home.htm

Greg

Hugo,

Just got home and ran to the shop. I cut this channel like butter. The blade seems to be holding up, not that I've cut that much to date (friends say the blades last a long time)

Also, I'm using a little wire feed welder (mig). In my opinion, nothing is easier than a mig welder.

Greg

Attachment 285

Hugo, if I look at your workshop (with a lot of ventilation) then a MIG welder will not work for you when there is a little wind. For outdoor use the stick welder is the best. The mig also needs a special expensive gas that might not be easy to get where you live. (When you work in wind, the gas blows away and the weld is full of holes).

The MIG makes a fast clean weld, but it is not a high-strength weld. When factories need to make special welds they still mostly use the stick. (There are other types of welding as well, but for you the choice lies between stick and mig - the rest are too specialised). People will say that the mig has less distortion, but that is because they are making a weaker weld with less heat penetration. The MechMate however does not need any special high-strength welds. Our machines were welded with mig and it will be my natural first choice again - but our factory does not have wind inside :).

For a workshop that must cut lots of steel flats/pipes/angles/beams my first choice is a horizontal bandsaw. They are quiet, easy to use, and blades last a long time. To cut the big beams at an angle you need quite a big saw. If my bandsaw was not big enough for those beams, I would cut them with a grinder with a very thin disk.

Greg where did you get the blade and how much are they. It sounds like the best thing since sliced bread. I went to the web site and did some reading.

J.R.

I bought it thru Lawson Products. Since then, our local weld shop sells them and they are cheaper. I haven't needed another blade, but they sell around $38 USD.

I also think other manufactures are making these saws.

I have an abrasive (big black wheel) chop saw. I don't use it anymore. Its noisy, takes about 3 times as long to make a cut, and the cut is hot, so you have to wait or cool it off to handle.

Greg

Hello Gerald and Greg. :) The ventilation is under control if I need to. We have Argon gas with no problem. I was thinking in a chop saw with metal blade but now that Greg says he cuts ease with a circular saw........ ¿Is it that ease to cut with a circular saw? I never use one before except for wood . I look days ago for circular blade in MSC and the prices where around 159 MSC #: 48535322 and $ 203 MSC #: 01913615 and $274 for a Milwaukee 14" chop saw MSC #04437885. I was already thinking this was my best choice , but wanted to confirm wit all you "tools lovers". $38 sound very cheap. If you guys can check and suggest something else or more adequate I would not mind at all. (I know MSC is not the cheapest but I have a nice experience with them so I tried to buy all trout them).
There goes some new post. The pinion was made here in my town and the rails also . This big "baby beast" is going to be roooooaming very soon.:D
I think I got to excited sending pictures that I almost run out of capacity in the forum sow I will keep what is left for my machine finished.:o
Regards to all.

Hugo,

Just to be clear. You can not change out a wood cutting blade with a steel cutting blade on a wood cutting circular saw. The steel cutting saw rotates at a slower RPM.

The circular saw is very easy to operate. I'll cut my 45 degree's on the big channels this weekend. I'll also cut my support channels too. I can post pictures if that will help.

Greg

Greg, what is the correct speed for that metal saw blade? I get the impression that people just want to buy a blade to fit into their chopsaws. That could be fatal if the speed is too high.

Edit to add that you posted while I was typing. :)

Hugo, with respect, that pinion and rack look rough. Let us hope that it runs smooth.

I will try to increase the photo limit.

Gerald,

The circular saw I'm using has a 7.25 inch diameter blade. It rotates at 3500 RPM.

From the steel max web site, the 9.0 inch diameter rotates at 2700 RPM. The 14.0 inch diameter blade rotates at 1450 RPM.

The steel max web site says that their saw has better gears and is made for the different stress of cutting metal. So I don't think someone could (if possible) just adjust the rotational speed of a wood cutting saw.

Now that I think about it, didn't you use your table saw (with a carbide blade) to cut the rails?

Greg

I used the table saw with a grinding disk (not with teeth/carbide) for the Z-slide. But I did watch the speed limitations very carefully.

Gerald pinions where the only part I could not get imported. I agree with you, dint look very clean cut but I tried them with my hands over the rail and run with no effort :D ¿How can I tell if there is something wrong with the pinions when they start to run so I proceed to change them? Reza got the rails for me (don't know what happened with him, never talk again) I found www.smallparts.com that I will tried . If any one can send me addresses for rack and pinion to check if I can import I will appreciate.
Greg I guess we all like photos so don't stop please:o .